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Spell-binding presentation
B. RAMA DEVI
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One powerful performance after another followed as Ramli Ibrahim's troupe took the stage.
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SPECTACULAR: The Sutra dance theatre group
`Spellbound,' a visual
Odissi extravaganza,
was presented
by Sutra dance theatre,
Malaysia at the spacious
auditorium at Isha
Yoga Centre, Coimbatore,
on New Year Eve.
Developed in collaboration
with Guru Durga Charan
Ranbir and rearranged
by Ramli Ibrahim, this
stunning group composition
truly deserved its
name by leaving the spectators
`spell-bound.'
A disciple of pioneer Guru
Deba Prasad Das, Ramli
Ibrahim was a personification
of energy, grace, force
and speed.
The backdrop looked like
the star-studded sky with
the small square mirrors
reflecting innumerable tiny
lamps. The lovely costume
and the appealing light effect
(by Sivarajah Natarajan)
filled the spectators
with awe and expectation.
Mangalacharan', the invocation
was dedicated to
Saraswathi, the Mother
Goddess of eloquence, wisdom
and learning.
The unhurried quickness
with which the dancers created
formations and kept
changing them was admirable.
For the line `Yaa Brahma
Achyuta Shankara', they
created Brahma loka with
Brahma and Saraswathi;
Vaikunta with Vishnu on
Adisesha, attended by
Lakshmi; and Kailash with
Siva and Parvathi. The same
seven dancers (two male
and five female) changed
their roles convincingly
with their eloquent gestures
and facial expressions.
Most graceful aspect
The tribangi posture (in
which the three bends of the
head, torso and waist), the
most graceful aspect of
Odissi, was presented in the
next item, `Pallavi,' `Ashta
Shambhu' depicted Siva in
his various forms, as the one
who creates, destroys and
recreates.
The various episodes
usually associated with Siva
were beautifully depicted,
but the one that stood out
was the portrayal of the
churning of the ocean of
milk. The dancer became
the mountain, the tortoise,
the waves of the ocean, Siva
who drank the poison and
Parvathi who stopped him
from doing so, all, at the
same time.
In `Kadamba Bane Bangsi'
the pining Radha abandoned
her pride and ran to
meet Krishna on hearing his
flute.
The final item, `Aditya
Acharna,' an invocation to
the Sun God, was highly impressive
with the depiction
of Surya with his charioteer
and the horses.
When all the dancers
performed Surya namaskara
on the stage one could
realise how beautiful the
human body is and how
flexible it can be. For this
item alone some more explanation
could have been
given as most people in the
audience were not too sure
as to what was happening
on the stage.
The most remarkable aspect
was that the stage was
not empty even for a second,
one powerful performance
following another
after a brief but relevant introduction.
`Spellbound'
was a mixture of traditional
Odissi, and contemporary
dance styles. To the lay person,
it was a `thing of beauty'
that conveyed the
message that `life is divine
and must be lived to its fullest.'
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Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
|
